TruValue Toolclip ?clone?

Noa Isumi · **on:** March 21, 2018, 07:51:50 AM

I just got a new old tool, and I'm shure you noticed the "??" in the title.
One of these tools was in a thread in 2009, but with very little info and a mising pic (photobucket Err p500) so I will start from scratch on this one.

This is the the TruValueHardware multi-tool. It is a straight up first gen SOG ToolClip clone, or is it. I have gone over the MTO encyclopedia specs for the genuine as well as immage searches and found little variance:
1) no clip
2) 0.5oz lighter (clip?)
3) logos
4) made in Taiwan
Thats it.
Evreything else is the same; tools, serration count/type, rivet heads, washer placement, dimensions, all of it. The diffrences are so few I am wondering if it is a licenced copy like my Stanley Pocket Power Plier.
This is a really intresting tool as I have never seen a ToolClip clone come so close to spec. Most clones are flimsy, rickety, and have weird pliers. This doesnt, it feels like a SOG with a 2nd run finish(that could be age too).
Admittedly I havent handled a real one since they were in production, so all I'm going off is searched info.
Ether way I am happy with this new addition to my collection.

Noa Isumi · **Reply #1 on:** March 21, 2018, 07:52:23 AM

More pics

That washer on the small driver is an odd detail for a knockoff
As is the removable blade guard

It just seems like a lot of extra manufacturing steps for a clone

Sam Lim · **Reply #2 on:** March 21, 2018, 02:05:23 PM

I think for this particular tool, many other manufacturers have "created" their own versions of it. I had came across many variation of this clone with horrible quality..

Noa Isumi · **Reply #3 on:** March 21, 2018, 02:41:59 PM

I too have seen tons of really bad coppies; thats what throws me off on this one.
It is actualy a real tool, and the closest thing to the real deal I've seen in a long time.

For example most coppies have needle pliers. Shefield bieng the only other common one that squared off its jaws but with diffrent tooth count, added Philips, and that horid swirl grind on the finish.

I went so far on this one as to try and count the file teeth but couldn't find a clean enough pic or stare at them that long. The plier jaw teeth and serrations did match though.

It is a clone, but we also know SOG was notorious for licencing to other tool brands back in the day. There is the question...did they licence it. I know they were working out of Japan at the time, and years later China; but not Taiwan that I know of.

As for the slab&pliers design that has been recycled since the 1930s at least

ChopperCharles · **Reply #4 on:** August 02, 2018, 06:32:45 PM

Your True Value plier is actually peened correctly. Mine was not, I had to peen the rivets myself before it was acceptable. I also see yours has casting voids in the handle and jaws (mine does too). The washer on the TV is larger on the handle lock/tool pivot rivet than it is on the SOG. The small flat driver is *very* slightly different. The bent-over tab that acts as a nail nick is farther up the tool. This allows the driver to sink further into the tool when closed, and thus it avoids jamming against the bottle opener blade. Essentially the driver blade is at a 15 degree or so downward angle in the handle, whereas the SOG version it is parallel to the handle. And the SOG plier I have jams against the opener blade. The SOG opener blade is sharpened to 45 degrees. The True Value is sharpened to 30 degrees (Just checked with a Lansky). The True Value's serrated blade has smooth serrations instead of sharp points, and it's sharper. It cuts paracord easily. The True value's handle isn't rounded like the SOG's. It's squared off. The SOG's handle is slightly more comfortable. The True Value tools sit lower in the handle, and especially near the back edge, which makes gripping the tool with force more comfortable. The nail nicks are not cut as precisely. The nick on my main blade has a little wobbly look to it at the top edge, and the nick on the opener blade is very shallowly cut. (Yours appears to be cut correctly).

The tool was brand new in the blister pack, but was covered in small scratches. I'm not sure if it was scratched through the blisterpack during years of storage (unlikely), or if the tools were just all tossed in a bin at the factory and then fished out to be loaded into the blisterpack. (That seems more likely to me). Not a huge big deal, the scratches were minor.

Honestly holding the two tools in my hand, it's obvious that the SOG is finished a little better... but the True Value appears to have fixed a couple design flaws of the original SOG. It also has, in my opinion, slightly better tools. All the sharpening notches are sharp, the blade is receipt-paper sharp, the opener blade is sharpened to a better angle, the serrated blade teeth aren't overly pointy, the serrated blade can cut paper and goes through paracord like butter, and it even includes a little guard to protect your fingers when using the serrated blade as a flat driver. Also the small driver was redesigned to sit lower in the handle, and the blades sit lower in the tool, enhancing comfort when gripping tightly. The TV also comes with a nice double-stitched, lined sheath.

There are two versions of the Sheffield. One with the black & yellow logo, and one with the orange logo. The orange logo does not have the swirly pattern. The Sheffield is not a direct clone of the SOG ToolClip. The jaws are a different type. The SOG and TV jaws are two piece jaws. The upper jaw is held in place by two rivets. If you were to drill those rivets out, the upper jaw would fall out of the tool. The handle and lower jaw are one solid piece of metal that pivot on the big rivet. If that rivet were removed, you could take out the jaw and lower handle as one piece.

The Sheffield has a scissor jaw. This means that both upper and lower jaws pivot on that big rivet. The upper jaw has one rivet there to keep it from moving. If you drilled out that one rivet, the upper jaw would also rotate around the pivot. It's a less-strong jaw style. You're not going to break it, but having less material at the pivot means the jaws are more prone to flexing to the sides when twisting objects or cutting wire. The Sheffield tool has a different tool load as well, replacing the bottle opener with a surpremely useful can opener. (It's faster than a vic or wenger by an order of magnitude), the serrated blade has a better file and a two-sided scraper instead of a flat driver, a backspring phillips, and a micro driver on a washer, that also sits low in the tool. The blade in the True Value is bigger and sharpened to a better angle.

Quality wise, the sheffield has a better finish than the True Value, but not as good as the SOG. Hand-feel, the jaws in the SOG and True Value feel a lot nicer to actually use. The Sheffield is slightly more convenient because it has a spring, but that spring is very heavy and tiring on the hands. Tool-wise, the Sheffield wins the day. The can opener instead of a third cutting blade was a genius upgrade.

Charles.